CNET First Look

Iomega iConnect Wireless Data Station

The Iomega iConnect Wireless Data Station is a great device to quickly turn your USB external hard drives into a robust network storage solution. Its compact design and ease of use more than make up for its average throughput performance, which is fast...

1:54 / March 5, 2010

Transcript

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>> Hello. If you have a bunch of extra hard drives and want to turn them into a robust network storage solution, then I have something for you. My name is Dong Ngo, and this is the iConnect Wireless Data Station from Iomega. The iConnect doesn't come with any built-in storage. Instead, it has four USB ports to host up to four external storage devices. Now, I tried it with this Seagate, like, a portable hard drive here. You just plug it in, and now, you have the hard drive's content available to the entire network. Apart from external storage devices, this port can also be used to host USB printers, up to two of them at time.
Design-wise, the iConnect is the most compact NAS we've ever seen. Unfortunately, it's USB ports are not optimally postitioned. Three of them are on the front, meaning you will have wires running all over the place if you want to connect a few devices to it. it'd be a much better design if the port were on the back instead. The NAS server comes with a gigabyte Ethernet port to hook up to the local network. It also comes with a built-in wireless N adapter. This means you can also access it via a wireless network. For better performance, however, it's best to use it with the Ethernet port. And even when used with the Ethernet port, the iConnect performance is about average. Considering its compact size, however, we find this acceptable. Though small, the iConnect comes with a few good features, including a very easy to use remote access, which allows you to connect to it via the Internet. The best thing about the device is the price. For less than $100.00, the iConnect is the one of the most affordable NAS soulution on the market. You cann find out more about the device by checking out the in-depth review at CNET.com. Once again, my name is Dong Ngo, and this has been the First Look at the iConnect Wireless Data Station from Iomega.
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